Not to switch DD to packed lunch in juniors after FSM ends?

[bumburlinga]

At our school most parents switch to packed lunches after FSM ends at end of Y2. I guess because of cost which is £2.10 a day. They’re good quality and she likes them. I LOVE the convenience and hate having to make a packed lunch (like now for Easter holiday club) and think this is worth my money.

DH isn’t here during the week and can’t see past the money aspect. He wants us (me) to start doing a pack up. This will soon turn into three lunchboxes I’m sure because I have 2 others at the school including one in the school nursery (I pay lunch because it’s not free until Reception) and I’m sure they won’t put up with biggest having a lunch box and their not having one just for the FOMO factor.

So AIBU paying for lunch after FSM ends when it would be cheaper to make?

No that’s me wanting to reduce single use plastic

School dinners are not 'substantial' here. The yR get the same portion as the Y6, and they're tiny. They're also £3.40 / day.

We are not allowed to send pastry, chocolate, cakes, nuts (understandable)). PITA

Ours are tiny portions too, and really poor quality. My 2 eldest children are brilliant with food and will eat most things, but they often can’t even identify the meal. I’ve heard ‘some sort of hard, chewy meat’ as a descriptor a few times! I wish they were decent, it would be so much easier.

“Hot” lunch LOL. They’re never anything but tepid/cold.

Of course YANBU.
From your circumstances, you would only be saving about 50p a day, not £2.10 per day.
By the time you factor in your time, it makes much more sense to have school meals.
My dc had school dinners right through from Nursery to Year 13. We were lucky in that all their schools did nice meals.
It also meant that when we had a quick turn around after school (from when I got them from OoS Care to when they had to be a cubs or swimming or whatever) I had no problem giving them a sandwich or something on toast for tea, as they'd had a cooked meal and pudding at lunch time.
I'd 100% make the same decision again.

YANBU at all to keep her on school dinners. If DH wants her to have packed lunches he needs to make them, and make them to a decent standard.

I don’t think the other two having FOMO is a good reason because children can be told “this is the way it is”, especially as the eldest had school dinners in the infants. But your other reasons (convenience, a decent meal, she likes them, not that expensive) are good ones. I’m not convinced packed lunches will be cheaper, and it certainly won’t be cheaper to make three packed lunches instead of one paid for meal and two free ones.

My DS is in juniors and has a mix of packed lunches and school dinners (depends what the school dinner is). His school meals have gone down hill in recent years so I was very happy the school is changing provider- especially as we are in London and school dinners are free for juniors too! If the school dinners hadn’t gone so badly down hill I wouldn’t think about turning down a free meal for a packed one - the new provider looks much better.

DD is in secondary and takes a packed lunch every day but she can grab the items for herself in the mornings.

School meals are not nice and they certainly don’t give some children enough food!
majority of schools stopped children taking in white bread, chocolate, biscuits, cakes and squash, yet schools are allowed to give children puddings!
my 3 has had packed lunches from their first day at school, my husband also has packed lunches, it doesn’t take long to make a few sandwiches or wraps, put it in foil and keep in the fridge overnight ready for in the morning

Up to you. .my dd year 3 said if school dinners they don't have playtime due to the lunch queue. .very few have dinners now...lunch boxes as simple and easy to do.

Ds will be carrying on with school dinners next year into Y3, even if he does pick the sandwich option. I can barely be bothered to make mine (I work in a field so it's not really something I can avoid) so why would I add having to consult a 7yo in a world of his own, get a decision and get it made.

Mine all had school meals into secondary. DD1 then decided she wanted a packed lunch but she makes it herself. DD2 still has the school meal.

Your year 3 child would be capable of doing their own sandwich though. I'd just ask her to make her own lunch every evening.

It very much depends on the school caterers (ours sadly are full of ultra processed stuff and puddings with every meal (and not necessarily healthy puddings as many like to think). Also depends on the packed lunch. Mine contain none of the above you mention. I don’t think the quality of school dinners is good enough tbh.

I'm in Australia. For my kids to have canteen lunch it would close to 5 pounds each. If I could do lunch at school for 2.10 I would jump at. Save the hassle of making it.

I think it's a bit of a morale/body booster on a cold day. Also a hot meal means it's cooked so possibly better than some low grade packed lunches.

Some families will be serving whatever they can at home so guaranteeing one hot meal a day is a good thing. Hot food is nourishing for the soul

You obviously haven’t seen our school dinners. Pizza with a side of spaghetti, followed by cake covered in icing and sprinkles anyone? Or 2 fish fingers, 5 chips and a bowl of ice cream?
Packed lunches here are things like a chicken and salad pitta, chopped carrot, some greek yoghurt, cubes of cheese and a ‘treat’ item like a Brunch bar.

I still paid for ds1 up until he left primary probably 3 times a week due to afterschool clubs and activities and will with ds2 when he goes into ks2 next year

I don't find packed lunches any cheaper than school dinners.

I hate packing lunch boxes too. It's bad enough having to make them for holiday camps etc.

If hubby is so keen yell him he can make sure the stuff is always available and pack them himself.

It's an extra chore I would not be keen to take on.

Surely it depends on whether you can afford it? And whether you are rushing off to work? If you can then I definitely pay for lunch, if you are going home then I’d say packed lunch .

God you are not being unreasonable - when you factor in the cost of materials you are saving about 10p a day, not taking your time into consideration.

I would never do a packed lunch again if my son would eat the (admittedly unappetising) food provided by the school.

Ours have hot meals in flasks. I'll make a Macc and cheese, freeze it and then a week later they'll have leftovers. Or pasta with hidden vegetable sauce thrown together.

It's no harder making three portions in three flasks than one. I mainly bung in the air fryer whilst I'm boiling the kettle.

Jacket potatoes with a small pot of cheese.

Anything left over really.

They do have school lunches when either parent is away with work and it's just one too many extra jobs for a solo parent when you have to have them to breakfast club for 7.10am

I do begrudge paying £6 a day, £30 a week.

Would rather have a takeaway 🤣

I'd be over the moon if mine would eat school dinners but they're fussy and come home starving plus ours are £3.20 so expensive when it's for two and they don't get eaten.

It's a great chance for kids to try different foods that you don't normally eat at home too. Which is kind of the problem in our case but ideal for those who will give anything a go.

YANBU my ds1 is now in y4 and has school dinners the majority of the time. I think the main reason is the pudding 😂😂

(Plus it's the one thing I can usually persuade exh to pay for)

When mine have packed lunches it’s something like pasta in a flask too - keeps it reasonably warm! I’ve got a system of having cooked pasta in the fridge, and then I freeze little bags of bolognaise sauce for ds to defrost when needed and mix into the pasta.

DD is veggie so has either pesto pasta, a different pasta sauce if we’ve had one the night before or soup, or different things depending on what we’ve got!

Then they have a few snack items alongside (cereal bars, cheese, yoghurt etc)

My DS had school dinner all through primary they were a similar cost can't remember exactly but he was a good eater and really enjoyed the variety